PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Durán, Josefina
AU  - Massardo, Loreto
AU  - Llanos, Carolina
AU  - Iacobelli, Sergio
AU  - Burgos, Paula I.
AU  - Cisternas, Marcela
AU  - Iruretagoyena, Mirentxu
AU  - Armstrong, Macarena
AU  - Aguilera, Raquel
AU  - Radrigán, Francisco
AU  - Martinez, María Eugenia
AU  - Passi-Solar, Alvaro
AU  - Riedemann, Pablo
AU  - Crisóstomo, Natalia
AU  - Cifuentes, Camila
AU  - Hagedorn, Lucero
AU  - Cisternas, Alvaro
AU  - Vasquez, Nancy
AU  - Margozzini, Paula
AU - the ENS2017 Study Group
TI  - The Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Chile: A Nationwide Study Performed as Part of the National Health Survey
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.190396
DP  - 2020 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 951--958
VI  - 47
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/47/7/951.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/47/7/951.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2020 Jul 01; 47
AB  - Objective. Genetic and environmental backgrounds influence the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In Latin America, epidemiologic data are scarce. We aimed to determine the prevalence of RA in Chile in a population-based study.Methods. The National Health Survey was a cross-sectional household survey with a stratified multistage probability sample of 6233 participants performed between August 2016 and March 2017. A screening instrument for RA was applied to a random sample of 3847 subjects > 30 years old. Positive screening was defined by at least 1 of the following: 2 swollen joints for at least 4 consecutive weeks (past/present), and/or a diagnosis of arthritis in the past. Individuals with positive screening had rheumatoid factor, anticitrullinated protein antibodies, and C-reactive protein measured, as well as clinical examination performed by a rheumatologist. Self-report of doctor-diagnosed RA was also performed.Results. The screening questionnaire was applied to 2998 subjects. A positive screening was found for 783 (22.1%). Among subjects with positive screening, 493 (66%) had a clinical evaluation performed by a rheumatologist. Using the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism 2010 classification criteria, prevalence was 0.6% (95% CI 0.3–1.2). Prevalence was higher in women, and 3.3% of subjects self-reported having RA.Conclusion. According to this national population-based study, RA prevalence in Chile is 0.6% (0.3–1.2), a value similar to what has been found in developed countries and slightly lower than some Latin American countries. Self-reporting leads to overestimating RA.